Finished Knitted Dress

Yes, folks, I finished the dress! I know, it's been way too long for me not to post this but bare with me...here are the pics!

This image is from the inside of the dress. It has a lattice look where I wove the elastic in and out on the backside. I took the proper measurements but I have to say, it was very tight on her. So for the next set of pictures, I snipped off almost all of the elastic and just let about 3 strands hold up the dress.

And here we have it...it worked great! This white ribbon can be changed out for any occasion.This was for First Communion and she wore a little cover-up over the shoulders. The pattern called for straps but I thought they would fall off the shoulder (and I ran out of time) so we decided to skip them.

And here we changed the ribbon to red for our 4th of July party.

It is so soft and light weight, perfect for our summer party.

I do have to be realistic and know that she will only wear this for about 10 minutes (enough for me to get a picture) and then it will be shorts and t-shirt time. Ahhhhhh, the 4th....

Soccer Success

In lieu of recent soccer events, I'm posting a fabric soccer ball I made. This was for my 18 month old niece who loves to play "ball" with her older brother but isn't quite ready for the big kid balls.

I love the bright colors and high contrast, perfect for those little growing eyes. The fabric is pliable so she can grab it and carry it anywhere. She can even fall on it and sit on it if she wants too. Now, when you are working with batting, I found it almost impossible to make the perfect sphere. Well, it was a perfect sphere until children got a hold of it and started kicking and throwing (and laughing and playing) until it was completely bent out of shape. All is ok, though, because 18 month olds have really low standards as long as it's made well!

Vintage Cookbook

This was a real find. It's so cute and authentic! I opened it up and actually found a table of contents....I don't think people do that anymore.

It was darling! The penmanship was amazing and even though the pages were worn (because they were cooked around) the book was in great condition.

I couldn't find any handwritten dates but then I found the pictures and they said it all.

This pic was so sweet because she noted where she got the recipe - from OG&E, our local electric company. I bet she got this recipe in her monthly bill in Small Town America. (They still do that here and I love it!)

Faye's Sewing Room

Faye is a wonderful woman that I admire so much! She is the ultimate knowledge of the past wanting to push through to the future. I love her enthusiasm in teaching young adults how to find their creative skills and get some long lost attitude of being resourceful back out into mainstream thinking. Ideas, direction, and encouragement are her forte! She is in charge of our 4-H sewing club where Lily is excited to learn and grow in her sewing skills. Faye is also head of the Home Grown section of 4-H and I can't imagine all the things that woman must know!

Faye and I were talking a while back and it was so funny how we women think sometimes. She was talking about having this sewing room (building) finished so everyone could come and enjoy it. She was remembering little jobs that needed to be done and just wanted to get into the building so bad that the little jobs could wait. I was trying to get a point across and said, "Faye, be like a professional for a minute. If a professional wanted to move into a workshop, all the equipment would be where they wanted it and everything would flow for work purposes. Wait a few more weeks and have it right, and exactly they way you want it to be...purposeful and finished. Then you won't have to wait and worry about things getting done." I think we should all make our space important and we will feel productive not scattered.

And here it is...that wonderful sewing room that is ready to be a place for teaching and learning. It's such a great thing!

I don't even know what this machine does but it's cool! And a little tip from Faye - when you are sewing and get all that lint inside the machine, don't use canned air to blow it out, use an air mattress pump. The tip is small and can reach those little places and the pressure is perfect, besides don't we all have one those?

Faye is one of those few people in the world that has always made her money through sewing. Kudos to you, Faye for your wonderful contribution to young, sewing minds!

Handmade Marketplace

This is a phenomenal book! The author, Kari Chapin, is amazing and I'm pumped to start her eCourse this week.

Why is this book so Phenom? It talks to crafters about creating a business. Is that what we all want? Not necessarily, but I love that she is making me answer my own questions about having a business goal. I may discover that I don't have a goal and that I just like to make things for people, but I feel like I'm at that next level where I need a little challenge and I'd like to see where I can go.

This will force me to be realistic and goal-oriented. I need that nudge because the creative side of me lives in a world where everything always works out.If you are considering turning your craft into your business, this is a great start! This will expose you to aspects about a business such as time committment, tax information, expenses, and marketing. I know, I know! All you want to do is make things. Well, me too, but I might be able to recover some money to at least buy more supplies to feed my sewing habits. Plus, making things just makes me feel better...so read on!

Patriotic Process

Next step in the Patriotic Process...getting the flags assembled.

After sewing the flags together, I turned the them right side out and poked the point with a dull pencil so it would have that nice finish. I pressed the flags with an iron for sharp edges. I highly recommend that when you get your sewing machine out, you turn on the iron. It really makes a difference when you press your pieces after (or sometimes before) you sew.

I took bias tape and folded it over both pieces of the flag. What did I do wrong? I think I should have paid the money and gotten the widest tape they make because this was very tricky to work with something so small.

It turned out fine and once I got a rhythm going, it went pretty fast.

You can see here how narrow this bias tape really is. I couldn't even pin it to the fabric.

I also had all the flags ready to go so I could slip one in right after the other so it went smoothly.

....and it worked!

This is one strand of bias tape that measured 3 yards. I left about 12 inches on each side so we would have room to tie the flags up. I'm not sure yet where we are putting these so I need to be flexible.

Cake Mama

This beauty of a cake was made by my friend, Jess.


It's a chocolate cake with chocolate icing, ice cream in the middle, and white chocolate curls on top.

The glass cake stand is pretty and frosted while she did the curls...

...and great tip from Jess, use a marble tile like a cutting board to thin out the white chocolate. It's cooler than room temp (I didn't know that) and you can get the right temper of the chocolate. Why does this matter? If the temper is wrong, the chocolate tastes ok but can't be manipulated the way you want, a.k.a. it will be blochy and sticky. Read the directions on the packaging and do exactly what it says! Chocolate has a mind of it's own when you are trying to make it look pretty.

Beautiful job, Jess!

Make-shift Martha

Ok, I'm not claiming to be Martha or anything but remember that cupcake book I bought a few months ago? Well, I made the Blackberry Cornmeal Muffins straight out of the book.

Oh my goodness, this recipe was very easy, very pretty and very good.

I took pics by the book so you could see how an average girl like me can even make muffins look gourmet. The sugar is sprinkled on the top which gives it that delightful sweet surprise when you bite in.

These had the consistency of a dense muffin not necessarily a light and fluffy muffin. That means you get full much faster...but I ate two anyway.
Take advantage of the bounty of blackberries right now. They are in season and not too expensive. They freeze great and are better than the frozen ones you by prepackaged. I don't know why I can tell the difference but it seems like I can.

Just a glisten of sugar says...."Eat me!"

Anthro Anyone?

Ok, if anyone has ever been to Anthropologie, then you know how delighted you are when you see the big sign "SALE" in front of the store! I was in Anthro Heaven when I walked in to this beauty of a building.

A while back, I bought these napkins from Anthro and they had the cutest little trim. Sooooo, I got a tension rod and some cute clipies and hung them as small curtains in my kitchen and breakfast nook. They were so sweet and charming with all the colors I love.
These have become the inspiration for my new kitchen. We are in the land of kitchen remodel right now (pics to come, I promise) and this keeps my vision going when all I have to look at are studs...(and Ken).
When I went into the sale extravaganza, here's what I found.....MATCHING BOWLS! Can you hardly believe it? And they were on sale for a whopping $1.99 each. I ask you, how can you go wrong? So the vision is secure and moving forward! We are building a little shelf that will have these three bowls displayed right above the kitchen sink. And don't worry, I bought more than three...I'm way too practical for decorations with no use. With that price, I won't even flinch when my kids (or I) drop one on the floor...life happens!

Sewing Kit

I made this sewing kit for a friend. The pattern is super cute and it wasn't that difficult. It's one of the many great ideas in One Yard Wonders by Rebecca Yaker and Patricia Hoskins, the fabric is Heather Bailey. I did learn something that I would like to share with you. I was so excited to start this project that I couldn't even wait to make sure I had the right supplies. The pattern just gave dimensions, not actual pattern pieces, so I cut out my own. Instead of using the right tracing paper or even freezer paper for the templates, I got what I had and went for the wax paper. In my mind it seemed like a good idea.

Why was this a bad idea? Because I couldn't see the pattern pieces laid out once I was ready to cut. It was very frustrating to watch for those little transparent pieces, so just go to the store and get the good paper.

Once I got it all together, the process was very easy to follow. Don't do what I typically do...read ahead and then get overwhelmed and think I won't be able to finish this. Not true, don't torture yourself. Trust the pattern and go step by step!

The kit includes spools, needles, tape measure, seam ripper, marker and slips of paper and an antique ruler. Everything one would need for a "sewing emergency."

I have the little label sewn in that has "created by Christina Perry" on the lower left corner. I highly advise this purchase. People spend a lot of time thinking of the recipient and this is such a wonderful reminder of that generous investment. These were bought off of www.namemaker.com under clothing labels, woven design, and worth the money. Give yourself some credit on that work!

Patriotic Flags

Here is the process of the flag making. I laid out several pieces of fabric on a self-healing cutting board. Then I laid the template for the pattern (the size of the flag with the dimensions of the seam allowance included - 1/4 inch) on top and drew the triangle with a fine-tip sharpie. Why use a sharpie? It's easy to see and when I sew all of this together, you won't be able to see the ink. Using a fine-tip sharpie is better as it bleeds a lot less than a traditional size sharpie. Don't do this on anything you're going to wear! That would be a big chance you're taking.

I pinned the pieces together just so they wouldn't slide everywhere while I was cutting.




Then I started pairing up "random" pieces making sure I don't have two stars or two stripes side by side. It's looking cute!!!!

Embroidered Bookmarks

This picture of Lily working on her embroidery is a repost, but I wanted to remind you of the work in progress. The bookmark is finally finished and turned out so cute.

The fabric is an old sheet I cut up and I used scraps from other projects for the backs. Then I used a little ribbon or ric-rac for the top of the bookmark. The embroidery thread is about 25 cents at Hancock Fabrics...super cheap idea. If you use Crayola Washable markers, they can pick the color they want and it washes right out. I am very new to embroidery and these stitches are basic. I pretty much just kept my needle and thread on top of the color and didn't worry about anything.

Kenny also made a bookmark for his grandma (at Christmas, yikes) and it's finished as well. The red one is for me from Lily. I think it's funny that she didn't put "mom" on the bookmark but put "Chrissy" instead.

The cutest thing about these bookmarks is that they are the real thing....the real creative energy from their thoughts. All I did was bring it out with thread. I love this idea. It's so easy, inexpensive and unique. The recipient is always happy!

This one was for Mema. Lily asked me what she should draw and I said, "just draw what you think of when you are with Mema." And this is what she came up with...."me and you!" I love it! Such a sweet thing to see when you open your book.